


Tightest

by beloved_key



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Claustrophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Langst, Panic Attacks, Questionable Physics, Team as Family, galra are mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 00:58:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beloved_key/pseuds/beloved_key
Summary: Hunk, being the only one who knew the extent of his best friend’s claustrophobia, was extremely impressed with how long Lance lasted before breaking down.





	Tightest

**Author's Note:**

> TW for claustrophobia & panic attacks, stay safe everyone <3

Hunk, being the only one who knew the extent of his best friend’s claustrophobia, was extremely impressed with how long Lance lasted before breaking down.

It had been a stupid trap to get caught in, really; devised by Olkari prisoners who’d been transported off of their homeworld long before Voltron had helped liberate it. It was a small and suspiciously ill-guarded prison colony. It was only after they found the Olkari, who, to their credit, tried to warn their rescuers the moment they saw them, that they realized the danger that lay on the control level corridor.

Shiro, Keith, and Pidge had been the ones to find the prisoners; by the time they had desperately relayed the information to Hunk and Lance over the coms, it was already too late.

“I-I don’t know what happened, he spotted something, yelled, pushed me out of the way--” Hunk stammered in his anxiety, but he was already rushing to try and get to Lance. A section of the hallway’s floor had suddenly risen up, Lance pushed Hunk aside before the wall could rise, and Hunk figured his best shot at figuring out what was going on (and how to get his buddy back) was continuing on to the control center.

The others quickly made their way to him, and once Pidge hacked into the security footage on the trapped corridor, they realized what was going on; Lance was pacing from wall to wall, pushing back against his slowly-shrinking prison.

As Pidge frantically tried to deactivate the walls, Hunk found himself irrationally angry at the logistics of the trap itself. The way the walls lined up, there shouldn’t be any conceivable way they could be shrinking like that. But then, that was why the Galra had needed the help of the Olkari prisoners, who were, of course, too weakened from their imprisonment to prevent what was going to happen.

The worst part was, even though they could hear Lance hyperventilating and muttering to himself through the security footage, something in the metal walls was blocking their com frequencies. They couldn’t even offer reassurance.

It was clear that Lance was making a concerted effort to stay calm, but this was a pretty extreme situation. It wasn’t like a crowded area, or room without windows, which Lance could breathe through because he knew there was no real danger. This was his phobia’s every warning and whim suddenly justified. The room really was closing in on him, and he really was about to die.

By the time Lance had started losing it, throwing himself against the walls uselessly, even resorting to scratching at them, his muttering turned to frantic, heartrending shouts for help, for his team, for his mother, for anyone, Pidge had only managed to make the shrinking slow down. She’d been tuning out Lance in favor of hacking faster; Hunk didn’t have that luxury, and neither did the others.

“I’m TRYING!” Lance finally screamed, dropping to his knees in the center of his ever-smaller cage. “I know I’m not strong enough, I know I’m not smart enough, but I’m TRYING, please, I don’t deserve this, I don’t I don’t I don’t…”

Hunk heard a dull thunk in the background; he was pretty sure, from the tight curse that followed, it was Keith punching a wall. Shiro stood next to Hunk, eyes glued to the security feed, entire body tensed, ready to fight an enemy that he couldn’t even see. When Lance’s yelling turned to weak, repeated apologies as he rocked back and forth, Shiro’s control broke, and he stormed out of the control room, metal hand blazing to purple life. He’d already tried that, of course. There was some sort of energy field surrounding the metal that prevented him from actually touching it.

Hunk didn’t bother trying to remind him of that. He just lay a shaking hand on Pidge’s shoulder, who scowled determinedly.

A moment later, Pidge managed to make the walls stop, just as they tapped Lance’s toes and began to push at his back. It was only a matter of time, after that, before she started to force the walls to their previous positions, and then back into the floor.

Shiro was smart enough not to try and stop Hunk’s advance on his best friend, allowing the yellow paladin to immediately scoop up Lance’s trembling form and retreat back to the control center, plopping down in the middle of the blessedly open room. All his instincts screamed at him to grab Lance, to hold him tight and never let go, but he forced himself to back off and give him space, throwing fierce looks at Keith and Pidge when they tried to rush forward.

Lance was still rocking slightly, murmuring “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” again and again. Hunk knew he should say something, but his voice was stuck in his throat, and the others seemed to be following his lead on this one. Luckily, it didn’t take Lance long to realize he was safe.

He slowly uncurled himself, breathing slower but still borderline hyperventilating, flicking his gaze first at Pidge, then Keith, then Shiro, then finally settling on Hunk, who was sitting next to him; not too close, but he couldn’t find the will to be as far away as he probably should be.

“It’s okay, buddy.” Hunk forced out, smiling shakily as Lance stared at him. “You’re safe, you’re out, you’re not trapped--oof!”

Lance lunged forward, latching himself onto Hunk, sobbing loudly. Hunk wasted no time in wrapping his arms around his shaking friend, quietly soothing him, urging him to breathe slower.

With a sob of her own, Pidge threw herself down next to them. Noticing, Lance reached out a hand to her, and she grabbed on, holding it against her cheek as all the repressed panic from the last ten minutes--god it felt like so much longer than that--came surging out.

“I-I-I’m so sorry, I t-t-tried to work f-fast, but-t I c-couldn’t, it w-was more complicated than a-a-anything else they’ve had, I-I’m sorry it t-t-took so long, I’m sorry!” She cried, and Hunk leaned up against her. Lance squirmed slightly, prompting Hunk to unwrap one arm, allowing Lance to half-hug, half-fall on Pidge, reducing them to a three-person, crying cuddle pile, made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that they were all still in their armor.

Keith fidgeted in the background, awkwardly standing guard. Shiro stood by as well, waiting until the others calmed down to remind them that they were in a hostile Galra facility with prisoners who needed a ride home.

The three stood shakily, and Keith rushed forward support Lance when he almost fell. Even when he was steady, the red paladin kept close to Lance’s side, a hand on his arm at all times, even though Pidge and Hunk both pressed close as well.

When they finally made it to the Green Lion, they settled the few prisoners and flew off, Shiro taking the seat on Lance’s left, Hunk on his right, and Keith standing across from them, assuming his sentry-like position again.

To Lance’s surprise, Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulders protectively and took a steadying breath. “You’re okay.” He murmured, almost more to himself than to Lance. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” Lance agreed shakily, leaning up against the black paladin, and reaching out for Hunk’s hand. He looked up at Keith, who made a show of rolling his eyes, but still ended up sitting with his back against Lance’s legs, secretly revelling in the relief that he was still able to do so.

“We’re okay.” Hunk breathed, the knot that had tied itself up in his chest finally loosening, for the first time since Lance had pushed him out of the way. “We’re okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually really proud of this one, I go back to it a lot! Thanks for reading, feel free to comment/kudos, love you!


End file.
